The crazed gunman who burst into an Inglewood house, killing a heroic father and his 4-year-old son, failed in his plot to destroy the family, the victim's brother-in-law said Tuesday.

Instead, Desmond Moses' unimaginable and horrifying attack that also wounded a young mother and her two of her children has made the family stronger.

"We've been a strong family. We will remain a strong family," Jaime Jimenez said in an interview. "This man meant to destroy a family. He doesn't realize he just created a bond that will never, ever break - maybe a hundred, a million times stronger. That's how we feel."

Jimenez, 29, said his younger sister, Gloria Jimenez, continues to recover in the hospital from gunshot wounds inflicted in Saturday morning's home invasion attack that killed her husband, Filimon "Fili" Lamas, 33, and their "little angel," 4-year-old Giovani.

Their 6-year-old son was treated for a gunshot wound and released, and his uninjured 8-year-old brother returned to school Monday so they kept their perfect attendance records intact.

The children know their father died shielding them from the gunman, their uncle said.

"Now all they want to do is make him proud," Jaime Jimenez said. "They said they got lucky and their father and their little brother didn't. They know that they are looking down on them."

Their 7-year-old sister remains hospitalized and is recovering. She has told family members she is in pain but wants to return to school.

"It's terrible, terrible," said Fili Lamas' sister, Emma Lamas. "We cannot control ourselves from crying. But I give thanks to God because I know my brother is in so much peace."

Apparently angry at the Lamas family for complaining to their landlord about his odd, reclusive behavior, Moses, who lived in a back house behind the Lamases' rented home on 99th Street, struck at 4 a.m. Saturday.

Moses, 55, did not like the Lamas children playing in their backyard next to his home. Lamas complained and the landlord sought to evict Moses. It was supposed to happen this Friday, police said.

Lamas said his sister foiled what could have been a worse attack. She awakened first and alerted her husband and children that the back house was on fire, Jaime Jimenez said.

Moses was inside, ready to kill. As he started shooting, Gloria Jimenez and Lamas dashed in front of their children, shielding them from the bullets, each suffering wounds.

After shooting the family, Moses returned to his back house, which burned to the ground in a fire that would last all day. A body positively identified Tuesday as that of Moses was found later in the smoldering remains. He wore a bullet-resistant vest, had a .38-caliber handgun in his left hand and appeared to have shot himself in the head, police said.

Gloria Jimenez, her legs bleeding and severely injured, ran from her house carrying Giovani with a gunshot wound to his head. Police officers found her, grabbed the boy and took him to a hospital. But it was too late.

"Her wounds should have made it impossible for her to walk, let alone carry her child," Inglewood police Lt. James Madia said. "For some of us who have seen gunshot wounds, how did she muster the strength to walk out to the street?"

Police found Lamas draped over the couple's other children. He also did not survive his wounds.

"As the gunman went in the house, I believe (Lamas) jumped over the kids and basically provided cover for them," Jaime Jimenez said. "If I could choose my death, I would like to go out how he did, protecting my family."

Emma Lamas called her brother a hero.

"Gloria and his children were his priority," she said. "So he gave everything for them."

Jimenez said police found Molotov cocktails at the rear of his brother's house. He believes his sister is a hero for interrupting Moses' plan to cause even more death.

About 20 Jimenez and Lamas family members - Lamas had 11 brothers and sisters - attended a news conference Tuesday outside Chip's restaurant in Hawthorne, which Lamas co-owned. Some sobbed as police officers announced funds to aid the family, and relatives described the family's pain at losing a little boy and his dad.

"My sister, Gloria Jimenez, the day after the incident, said, `I am so happy that he is not traveling in heaven alone. He took our little Gio.' She looked up and added they are smiling down on us, and she smiled."

Still, they lost a little boy, described by his uncle as a normal, happy child with a big smile like his father.

"He was a mama's boy, always by her legs," Jaime Jimenez said. "Always `Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.' He was with her all the time. Just an amazing angel."

Jaime Jimenez and Emma Lamas said their families were overwhelmed by the public show of support. Hundreds of people have written words of encouragement, outrage, sadness and prayer on the Hawthorne police website, and other media sites.

Hawthorne police Sgt. Chris Cognac, who starred as "The Hungry Detective" on the Food Network and works as his department's community relations officer, said he is soliciting donations from celebrity chefs, Hollywood friends and his fellow officers for an online auction that will raise more money to assist the Lamas family.

Jaime Jimenez said he does not know what the future holds for the family. Lamas and his sister had planned to move to a larger house somewhere in the South Bay. It was too early to know whether Gloria Jimenez, a stay-at-home mother, would assume her husband's role at the restaurant. She should be released soon from the hospital.

"I just wish you guys could be there and see her," her brother said. "You go in there torn and as soon as you see her, all of a sudden there is this lift and she is a strong, beautiful person. I really can't describe to you guys how she is a hero. She is a hero."

Donations can be made to the Jimenez/Lamas Family Fund at any local Wells Fargo branch, Account No. 4122412588. They also will be accepted to The Lamas Family Donation Fund, ICE Federal Credit Union, One West Manchester Blvd., Suite 603, Inglewood, CA 90301, in care of Account No. 5223.